Piece of Mind (Iron Maiden album)
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| Piece of Mind | ||
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| Studio album by Iron Maiden | ||
| Released | May 16, 1983 | |
| Recorded | Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas, 1982 | |
| Genre | Heavy metal | |
| Length | 45:53 | |
| Label | EMI (U.K.) Capitol (U.S. original) Sanctuary/Columbia (U.S. reissue) |
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| Producer(s) | Martin Birch | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Iron Maiden chronology | ||
| The Number of the Beast (1982) |
Piece of Mind (1983) |
Powerslave (1984) |
Piece of Mind is the fourth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was originally released in 1983 (see 1983 in music) on Capitol in the US and later re-issued on Sanctuary/Columbia in the US whilst released on EMI elsewhere. It was the first album to feature drummer Nicko McBrain.
Lyrically, the album reflected the group's interest in books and film. For example, "To Tame a Land" is based on Frank Herbert's novel Dune, "The Trooper" is inspired by Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade. Other inspirations include "Where Eagles Dare", a film, and a novel by Alistair MacLean; "Quest for Fire"; the hymn writer G.K. Chesterton who is quoted at the beginning of "Revelations". More exotic influences include Greek mythology, albeit slightly altered for "Flight of Icarus", and samurai legend Miyamoto Musashi ("Sun and Steel"). Aleister Crowley influenced a good piece of the remaining lyrics of "Revelations," which was written by Dickinson.
This is the first Maiden album that was not named after a song featured on the album itself (though the words "peace of mind" appear prominently in the album's sixth song, "Still Life"). In its earliest phase the album was named Food for Thought but was changed so it would suit the artwork more. The name of the last track was meant to be "Dune," but Frank Herbert did not give permission to use his book's name and thus a new name had to be chosen.
Included in the liner notes is a slightly altered version of a passage from the Book of Revelation. As printed in the liner notes, it reads:
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more Death. Neither sorrow, nor crying. Neither shall there be any more Brain; for the former things are passed away."
The actual text (from Chapter 21, Verse 4) is nearly identical, except that it says "neither shall there be any more pain..." . This change can be seen either as a reference to the album's name, or to drummer Nicko McBrain's inception into the band for this album.
The album also includes some of Iron Maiden's most iconic artwork, including an image of Eddie as "the Trooper", which would become a successful poster.
The album ranked 21 on IGN's list of the top 25 metal albums.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Still Life
At the beginning of the sixth track Maiden included a hidden message which could only be understood by playing the album backwards. This was a joke and an intended swing back at the critics who had accused Maiden of being satanic. The backwards-message features a drunk Nicko McBrain uttering the following phrase:
- "What ho said the thing with the three "bonce", do not meddle with things you don't understand..."
This is then followed by a belch.
[edit] Track listing
- "Where Eagles Dare" (Steve Harris) – 6:10
- "Revelations" (Bruce Dickinson) – 6:48
- "Flight of Icarus" (Adrian Smith, Dickinson) – 3:51
- "Die with Your Boots On" (Smith, Dickinson, Harris) – 5:28
- "The Trooper" (Harris) – 4:10
- "Still Life" (Dave Murray, Harris) – 4:53
- "Quest for Fire" (Harris) – 3:41
- "Sun and Steel" (Dickinson, Smith) – 3:26
- "To Tame a Land" (Harris) – 7:27
[edit] 1995 Reissue Bonus CD
- "I Got the Fire"
- "Cross-Eyed Mary" (Jethro Tull cover)
- Originally released on the Aqualung album.
[edit] Certifications
- US - Platinum(1986) (1,000,000+)
- UK - Platinum(1995) (300,000+)
- Canada - 2*Platinum(2006) (200,000+)
- Germany - Gold(1996) (250,000+)
- Finland - Gold(1990) (25,000+)
- Spain - Gold(1983) (50,000+)
[edit] Credits
- Bruce Dickinson - vocals
- Dave Murray - guitar
- Adrian Smith - guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Nicko McBrain - drums
